5 smart ways to optimise staffing costs

Flexible staffing tech platformCooplehas put together fivetips for businesses looking to save staffing costs without compromising on delivering quality service. Coople’s recent survey revealed that 96% of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expected to see cost increases following last month’s changes in minimum wage and National Insurance. These tips provide a few suggestions on ways businesses could mitigate this cost increase.

Businesses can now expect to pay more for every hour their staff work, so Coople suggests employing tactics that reduce the number of hours worked in total.

Flexible contracts: Using flexible contracts means that businesses can scale their team up and down to accommodate both busy and quiet periods. The perfect balance of a permanent core team with flexible support from trusted additional staff can help businesses perform at their best whatever the level of current demand.

Delay hiring: If businesses hold off on setting in stone the number of staff booked on the shift until they are certain how many they will need, they will save on costs by avoiding overstaffing. Businesses can book the minimum number of staff they know they will need, before adding more permanent team members or flexible workers when they know they will need additional support. Having a large pool of reliable workers to draw on will help with this.

Shorter shifts: While 6-8-hour shifts are typical, some businesses know that on some days they will experience a rush with most customers arriving within a shorter period. These businesses might consider booking in at least some of their staff on a shorter 4-hour shift, focusing their attention on making sure the rush is well staffed, with a smaller team handling the rest of the day.

Rehire trained workers: When choosing to access support from flexible staff, businesses can maximise efficiency by bringing back trusted workers they have already trained and onboarded. Having a pool of roughly 3x the maximum number of people needed for a shift means that whenever they need to scale their team, businesses will have flexible workers ready to come in and hit the ground running.

Use a platform: Registering on a platform like Coople will help businesses find talented flexible workers who use the platform, and build a relationship with them. It also means that businesses don’t have to handle everything by themselves, with the platform taking care of administration, payroll and paperwork.

Rufus Hood, General Manager UK at Coople, comments:

“Many businesses are feeling the pressure of rising staffing costs. At Coople, we believe flexibility is key for companies to stay agile with access to skilled workers when they need them, and for people to find meaningful jobs that fit into their lives.

“Rising costs can be worrying, but that doesn’t mean businesses have to compromise on service quality. With the right approach, it’s possible to stay efficient without disrupting day-to-day operations for example, by building a pool of trusted flexible workers who can step in when needed. Coople’s Favourite Pool feature makes this even easier, helping companies fill roles up to 40% faster.”